By Mario Toneguzzi

A flagship high-end designer kitchen showroom for Italian brand Ernestomeda is expanding its space and offerings in Toronto to meet a growing demand.

And Agostino Piccin, who co-owns the business in Toronto with his wife Liliana Siggillino, is contemplating an eventual expansion of the showroom to the West Coast in Vancouver, B.C.

The Ernestomeda showroom first opened in June 2015 and is currently located at the Designers Walk Building at 354 Davenport Road.

It is now expanding as well to King Street East in the Designer District of Toronto for high-end interiors.

*King Street East location. Photo: Google Maps*

*Designers Walk Building. Photo: Ernestomeda*

The high-end designer brand is represented all over the world.

“We’re transitioning and the company is going to be called Italdesign (Group). The reason we’re transitioning to that company is because a lot of our customers have come to us and said that they wanted a lot of different products not just the kitchens. From there, we’re not encompassing more things,” said Piccin. “That’s why we’re expanding the showroom. It’s bigger.

“We have all kitchens - Ernestomeda kitchens. About four different kitchens. We have an architect on staff that we brought in from Italy because all the kitchens are designer kitchens. They’re basically designed by world-renowned designers . . . The architect from Italy has been basically doing this for years and he customizes the kitchen for clients here with a design that is designed by one of the world-renowned architects.”

The first showroom of about 1,850 square feet will remain under the Ernestomeda name.

The new showroom will be about 2,500 square feet under the new company name and it will have more room for other products such as bathroom lines, closets, furniture and interior doors.

“When our clients come to us . . . they give us the drawings - it will be architects, it will be interior designers, or it can be an end user as well. Then our architect will be faithful to the drawing or not depending on what they want,” said Piccin. “So if the designer or the architect’s got an idea they really want fine we’ll go with that. If not, then they say ‘you guys are the experts, put in your flair to it’. So we do that as well. And from there we do the design. We go back and forth with the customer. We make tweaks here and there. And once they’re ready to go with it we place the order, it gets built and it gets built for them. Nothing ever gets done until the drawings are done because every kitchen is basically unique to that person.

“For now we’re concentrating really on the Toronto area. The goal is actually to get out to Vancouver as well. The goal is to get there to another location and right now what we’re doing is we’re servicing all over Canada because we’re the flagship store for Canada.”

Ernestomeda is the first Italian kitchen manufacturer to receive certification of the Italian origin of its furniture issued by CATAS and COSMOB, Italy's two top wood and furniture testing laboratories, independent certification bodies which support and assist Italian furniture producers in the control and verification of the products placed on the market.

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The certification is based on the Italian UNI 11674 standard, introduced in 2017, which now sets the regulatory framework for the declaration of Italian origin of finished furniture.

“Products safety and Italian origin is regularly verified and documented, as are the location of production processes within Italy and the product's safety and durability performances, to provide accurate, reliable proof of continual compliance with the standard's requirements,” said the company.

“When we design a kitchen, we also consider the context where it will be installed, taking care over every tiniest detail to ensure it fits perfectly into your world. This is essential to create a unique kitchen, in harmony with space and time.

“It all started with an ambitious aim. The aim of promoting Italianness worldwide, through innovative design, leading-edge technology, constant research and development and a passion for quality. Day by day, this concept acquired form in a company. A company aware of its mission: to observe, experiment and achieve something different. Something special. And so from the very beginning, innovation has played a key role, together with a vocation for “tailor-made” products, reflected in attention to details and solutions allowing a high degree of personalisation. All supported by the financial soundness, excellent business reputation and know-how of the Scavolini Group, of which it is a member since 1996.”

The company’s history is marked by its association with prestigious designers - Giuseppe Bavuso, Andreucci & Hoisl, Marc Sadler, Rodolfo Dordoni, Pietro Arosio, Castiglia Associati, Carlo Bartoli and Zaha Hadid, partner in the development of Z.Island, a revolutionary, futuristic kitchen.

Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary has 37 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, city and breaking news, and business. For 12 years as a business writer, his main beats were commercial and residential real estate, retail, small business and general economic news. He nows works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Email: mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com.

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